Portable heating systems, such as camping stoves and lanterns, are well known in the art of designing and manufacturing such systems. Camping stoves generally utilize an open or partially open flame to heat the stove's contents, with an aerosol canister containing a pressured fuel, typically butane or propane or a combination of those fuels, to supply the fuel needed to maintain the flame. Lanterns, on the other hand, operate similarly to produce light. These devices have several well-known limitations, with the most obvious being the use of an open flame and the fire danger it possess. Other less obvious limitations are related to the chemical characteristics of butane and propane.
The working pressure available from fuel canisters containing butane (either iso-butane or n-butane) or propane or a mixture of such gases is effected by variations in temperature that create conditions that are not ideal for operating heating or lighting systems over a wide range of ambient temperatures and altitudes. Specifically, the useful working pressure for butane at lower ambient temperatures drops off significantly such that the proper operation of a heating or lighting device is impaired. Propane allows for operation at low ambient temperatures but requires a heavier and more expensive fuel canister to safely handle pressures that are normally encountered at higher ambient temperatures. Mixed fuel combinations of butane and propane have been developed to minimize the impact of pressure and temperature variation. But these combinations still suffer from a tendency of the more volatile components of the combined fuels, which have lower boiling points, to be used up sooner than the less volatile fuel components, resulting in unsatisfactory pressure remaining in the fuel canister as it is depleted, especially under cold conditions.
In addition to the limitations in using butane and propane to fuel an open flame device, butane and propane also have other significant limitations related to their potential use as a fuel source for a catalytic combustion process. An important characteristic for any fuel used in catalytic combustion is the light-off temperature, which is a rough indicator of the propensity for the fuel oxidation reaction to proceed. Light-off temperature is often defined as the temperature at which the conversion rate for the reactants reaches 50%, abbreviated as T50. A low T50 assists in the complete conversion of the fuel to heat without producing intermediate reaction products and pollutants, which may occur when trying to operate the catalytic combustion process at relatively low temperatures. A sufficiently low T50 value will also allow for catalytic reactor designs that can use light weight metals such as aluminum without concern for exceeding material temperature limits or causing catalyst deterioration. The fuel gasses commonly, used such as butane and propane, all have relatively high T50 values, limiting the possible material design choices and catalytic reactor operating parameters for the heating catalytic combustion chamber. The higher operating temperatures may also introduce unwanted design choices necessary to insure safe operating conditions for the user. Prior art is deficient in describing means for insuring fail-safe operation of catalytic heating in a wide variety of circumstances. Irrespective of fuel type, the prior art does not show how to adapt catalytic heating, to applications, such as, self-heated, temperature regulated portable beverage heating or cooking applications in a manner that assures a high degree of operational safety using techniques that are cost effective. Prior art also does not show how compressed gas fuel used in catalytic heat generation can be safely applied to an indoor application or while inside a transport vehicle, or any small enclosure such as a tent. All of these shortcomings, as well as, others associated with prior art catalytic heat generating devices, limit their applications or area of use.
In view of these and other problems in the prior art, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and method utilizing a catalytic heat generating device that overcomes the drawbacks relating to the compromise designs of prior art devices as discussed above. Another object of the present invention is to provide a passive technique, which requires no externally provided power, for pre-mixing air and fuel which will provide air to fuel equivalence ratios of one or more when coupled to reactors that have relatively high back pressures.